Thursday, July 21, 2011

New Pulp, a recently organized Branding Movement to unite creators and publishers of modern Pulp fiction under a collective banner, announces today its first collective New Pulp publication. According to New Pulp founder Tommy Hancock, this project is a twenty chapter novel currently being written in a round robin style, that meaning each chapter is written by a different author. This multiple author narrative, entitled PARIAH AND THE PURPLE PRINCE, is the inaugural project of writers and publishers under the New Pulp Banner.

“New Pulp,” according to Hancock, “is a designation that applies to creators and publishers who, having found their inspiration in the stories and style established by the writers of classic Pulp stories in the early Twentieth Century, are continuing to write, draw, and publish tales of action and adventure in that tradition. New characters, new stories, new ideas, all owing a debt to the Pulp greats, but also written to be the two fisted, high octane adventure stories of today and the New Pulp classics of tomorrow.”

“This current project,” Hancock states, “actually sprouted out of the first New Pulp convention, Pulp Ark, held this past May in Arkansas. Possibly the single largest gathering of New Pulp creators to date, more than 25 creators representing at least nine publishers attended this convention and, of course, many ideas and concepts were discussed and debated. One of those discussions centered around how this collection of writers, artists, and publishers, now standing together under the banner of New Pulp could not only present and produce a unified product, a work representative of all the variety that New Pulp has to offer, but also a way that we could contribute something worthwhile, not just great stories. That desire quickly became an idea for a novel, round robin style.”

PARIAH AND THE PURPLE PRINCE is a novel in progress that started with a bare bones minimalist plot suggested by Hancock. Twenty authors were invited to participate in this project, their names being written individually on single strips of paper. As these names were drawn, each writer was assigned a chapter in the order their name was selected, the first writer getting Chapter 1 and so forth. Each writer gets a month to complete their chapter, although Hancock reports that the fourth writer is nearly done with Chapter Four and the project is just over a month along. “We are all taking this very seriously,” Hancock reports, “not only because we want the world to see what New Pulp is about, but also we are excited about the opportunity to give of ourselves, our time and effort and whatever money this novel might raise to not only a worthy cause, but toward something we all have a stake in-Improving education and literacy.”

All proceeds resulting from the sale of PARIAH AND THE PURPLE PRINCE will go to The Stan Lee Foundation. Founded to carry on the legacy of Stan Lee, the creative genius behind Marvel Comics and creator of a literal universe of iconic characters, the Stan Lee Foundation’s primary goal is to make literacy, education, and involvement in the arts accessible across America. A non-profit organization, The Stan Lee Foundation develops, designs, and sponsors programs and events with the singular purpose of bringing literacy, knowledge, and artistic enrichment to Americans from coast to coast.

“It is an honor,” Hancock states, “for each and every writer and creator involved in this project to be a part of giving something to an organization started by a man that has given us as fans and the world itself so much. The chance to contribute to The Stan Lee Foundation, to help this group further the fantastic efforts into education it has already initiated, to be just a little part of the progress and success that its various endeavors will see, is the best payday any of us could receive. With the opportunity of New Pulp working with the Stan Lee Foundation in other ways in the future also being possible, we truly want to give our best to this novel project and intend for this work to benefit future artists, learners, and readers everywhere.”

PARIAH AND THE PURPLE PRINCE will be published by Pro Se Press, the New Pulp publisher Hancock is a partner in. The writers contributing a chapter each to the novel include Hancock, Joshua Reynolds, Ron Fortier, Barry Reese, Thomas McNulty, Megan Smith, Wayne Skiver, Terry Alexander, Sean Ellis, Van Allen Plexico, Derrick Ferguson, Nancy Hansen, Adam Garcia, Wayne Reinagel, Mike Bullock, Andrew Salmon, Jim Beard, Bill Craig, Rich Steeves, and Tim Byrd. Collectively, these writers represent work in nearly every genre imaginable, from western to science fiction to crime to horror and beyond within New Pulp and as a group have worked with multiple prose and comic publishers producing the finest New Pulp has to offer.